Guess that's it then...

Well I've not posted in a day or two because we've really had a manic time in LA. The first night we were here we had a long drive here and just went to a nearby shopping area called Westwood as Jonny has said. The second night we also took another drive over to the cinema to see a recommended film called Australia and although it's perhaps a bit long it's very entertaining and well worth a watch. We also spent the day in Universal and generally enjoyed the rides and attractions there as well as getting a glimpse into what happens in a film studio and are a little bit wiser as to how they use the sets in films.

Today we have seen yet another film, Quantum of Solace, which is good and I think it's worth watching definitely if only because it seems to set up a third film to follow on from it. We had a little look around the Universal City (where we saw the film) and had a grand tour of LA courtesy of our Russian car driver called Boris; a man who has been in the USA for 30 years and apparently doesn't like it here. Go figure.

Mid afternoon we went to see Jay Leno's The Tonight Show (episode 3668) and really enjoyed being part of the audience and getting to be part of a live tv show experience. We even saw Tom Jones perform his new single, Come Alive, live!

Tomorrow we fly home, which just leaves us to pack tonight.

Overall it's been a fun time out here, with great experiences that will never leave me along the way. Hopefully we can break the tradition and actually get a flight on time in the USA tomorrow, out of the country. Route 66 has been a blast and although this might not be my very last entry, that's me signing out from the USA.

Stay classy United States of America!

City of Angels (just added three more, honest).

Hey all!

Very sorry for the delay in blogs recently, contrary to what Gary said just before we made it to Vegas this is not because 'what happens in vegas....' etc etc - this is because we had limited (in other words 'not free') internet access while we were there.

So, to follow on from Ste's blog - we had a slower day on our third day in Vegas, visiting some of the hotels on the strip, although really I should be replacing the word 'hotel' with 'city'!  Each hotel starts on the ground floor with a casino, then stretches into (sometimes literally) miles of shops in differing set ups, such as a Venice themed one, with gondola rides on a river THROUGH the hotel, another shaped inside and out as a medieval castle with Jousting going on while you eat, and then another with Circus acts happening above your head as you walk through the casino - the last one happened to be our hotel (the Circus Circus).  Above the shops you find the bedrooms.

It was worth seeing each hotel for the amazing decor etc, but each one was in essence the exact same - a massive casino filled with people, no doubt, on a ride to disappointment; and then a lot of expensive shops and restaurants.

We also saw the Beatles, well ok people pretending to be the Beatles, but they were very good - John Lennon was especially good and sounded just like him both singing and speaking (from what I have seen and heard from recordings obviously - no age jokes allowed)!

The next day we had a good trip (our final one of the 3400 mile journey) from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.  We arrived in good time to go out to the cinema to see 'Australia' - which is well recommended.

Today we were at Universal Studios which, although not as big as we had hoped, was very good. We took the 45 minute tour of the actual studios and lots of films such as Jaws, War of the Worlds, Back to the Future and TV shows such as Desperate Housewives, Hero's and CSI!  It was very revealing to see how some of the shows are put together.

We also were treated to shows about special effects (including large fire displays) and also we did some of the 'rides' which were all of high quality although limited in number!!

In the evening we went to a local celebrity hangout (although I was the only celebrity hanging out there while we were there) for a meal.  It was very good and it was followed by yet another trip to the cinema, this time to see 'Four Christmases', which was also very good.

Now, we are back at the hotel and we are tired!  Tomorrow is our very last full day here in the US of A and we are going on a Mercedes driven tour of LA followed by a taping of the 'Jay Leno' show (to which we got free tickets) - also Tom Jones is meant to be the guest on the show which could be good!!

On Thursday we catch the flight home and we are looking forward to seeing all you guys again.

Thanks again for the comments and for your prayers while we have been away.  Please continue to pray for our last few nights, I have to share a bed with Stephen for them and he has elbowed me twice in the night during our time away (once in the nose and once in the chest) so protection is needed (although the other night I woke up to find Gary using my back as a pillow - I genuinely do not know what is worse)!

God bless all and .......  stay classy, apparently.

Vegas, baby!

Well there has been no updates for the past day or two for a couple of reasons - Vegas is a busy busy place with lots to do, and the internet is not free here. So we have had to pay for 24 hours. Los Angeles might be the same but we will have to see.

We went to the Grand Canyon again the next day and it was snowy and misty. It was a unique experience because really how many people have seen the Grand Canyon in snow!? After that we began our trip over to Las Vegas. We took a slightly longer route through an iconic stretch of route 66 called the "Oatman Highway" (see pictures) which was well worth it. It was narrow and Gary and Jonny were well aware that to the right of them there were sheer drops, but the scenery was unmatched!

We also took a detour to the Hoover Dam by night, and got to stop halfway on it, on the way back over it (i.e. we drove over it one way then drove back) where no one normally ever is allowed to stop. This was because the police stopped a car that had gone straight through the police check lines. There were at least 3-4 police cars and a sniffer dog too. That delayed us a while, but eventually we got into Vegas with its bright lights and a nice Turkey thanksgiving dinner buffet where we all ate a little too much!

We got up at 5.00am the next day for our scheduled helicopter ride to find out a few hours later that we couldn't go because the fog over the Grand Canyon had not cleared. So we put it back to Saturday afternoon (the best time to do it) and explored the hotel's indoor theme park for the afternoon. In the evening we went to see a show called the Rat Pack, and I'm sure the others will say more but it was outstanding.

The next day we had a lazy start and Gary and Jonny went to get the tickets for the next two nights shows - the Wayne Brady (from 'Who's line is it anyway?' and a Beatles impersonator act). Wayne Brady was split into two sections - Comedy improvisation and then a more musical half. Personally I enjoyed the first half more, but it was all good.

Tomorrow we plan to walk through a few of the more famous hotels (which are more like cities in themselves) and then onward to our last destination - Los Angeles.

That's all from me for now, see you in Los Angeles! Stay classy Las Vegas!

Hi as I write to you at the moment the other two are seeing how far they are able to stretch after the horse riding yesterday, i shall not divulge further what they are doing but it is funny to behold!!  The horse riding was great, I was riding a horse that was called "Tax".  thankfully he knew what he was doing and I was able just to grab on and let him do his stuff.  When we got back up the trail when it was dark and we as P.Jonny said 2 miles or so from the  Ranch, our horses really wanted to get back meaning that they set off at a gallop which was great, though we were inexperienced our horses decided that travelling at around 30mph in the dark was a good idea.  Through this i discovered a new definition for Trust.  Trust is like holding on to a saddle in the pitch black whilst the horse that the saddle is attached two gallops as fast as they can towards trees, and since you can not see anything you have to have trust that the horse knows what they are doing, and that they will not hit any trees, thankfully they did not.

Today i do feel the effects of it, but it is not too bad.  Later that day we saw the grand canyon of mist!!  Hopefully it will have cleared by tomorrow morning, and then on to Las Vegas, where there will be no more blogging till LA.  Remember what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!!

Sore.. still sore... ouch...

Well yesterday as you know we went horse riding for around 3 hours. At the time and afterwards I was under the impression that me and my horse, Pioux, had bonded and had an understanding and you know - got on well as we galloped over the fields in the pitch black of night. However, little did I know that this horse was just making me think that, while he secretly inflicted the most pain in the most parts of my body I have ever experienced all in one go. He was a crafty horse though - he made it happen the day after I rode him. To my body, I went riding through vertical canyons for little under 3 months, let alone 3 days.

Today we went back to the overpasses in the Canyon de Chelley, and saw the Spider Rock and the White House Formation (a house carved in the rock) and then we carried on to the Grand Canyon. Over 300 miles long and 15 miles wide at places. Even around a mile deep in one place. Unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side and the heaven's had opened well before we reached the canyon itself. By the time we got to the Canyon, we were facing mist so bad we couldn't see 100ft in front of us, let alone a mile deep.

We are planning to go back again tomorrow, and although there is snow forecast, we are hoping that we will see much grander views and be able to post more pictures up for you.

Wish us luck, and keep us in mind as we recover from our escapades with the horses.

Stay classy Grand Canyon!

Pain..... real pain...... 'shave you legs by rubbing' sort of pain.... but worth it!!

Today we travelled to Chinle, it was a spectacular drive through red and yellow rock formations, large open ranges and steep drops.  

We arrived at Chinle and after checking in, decided to travel the 'south rim' of the Canyon De Chelly (you are not actually allowed into the canyon without a ranger).  We saw a horse riding place and went to have a look.  We were only greeted by a dog and a man asleep in the distance!!  So we travelled on and found another.  This one was much more productive!

The ranch was ran by an Indian man who got us a horse each (mine was called 'Black Feet' and was the fastest out of all the horses and the 'stud' of the ranch - the indian guy was very perceptive giving him to me, obviously we matched each other perfectly)!

We each got on our 'Mustang' horses and off we set.  We were meant to only go to the rim and back, but we each took to riding pretty quick and were soon going from a walk, to a trot and then a cantor, which is fast by the way!

Because we did go faster it meant that we had the time to actually go down the 1000 feet of the canyon to the bottom!!  We travelled down the very steep 500 year old Indian trail, down the side of the canyon wall.  It was pretty scary with the fall to one side of you literally always within one yard.  It was good that the horses knew what they were doing, cause we just held on and let them walk down there.

After an hour and a half or so of 'riding' we were at the bottom and we rode through the canyon, past wild cows and horses (didn't see any of the native bears that also inhabit the canyon).  We reached 'Spider Rock' which I had been looking forward to seeing ever since I knew we were coming to the canyon it is in.

It was great and our Indian Guide (who's name was Cedric) told us all about his people's (Navajo Tribe) history in the canyon and his own families history as well.

After a brief stop we travelled back up the trail in the dimming light and by the time we reached the top again it was literally pitch black.  We still had approximately two miles to get back to the ranch.  However, we had lots of confidence now and we literally galloped most of the way back, through trees (all too often literally sometimes).

My horse had decided that he just wanted to get home and he really sped off, I almost fell off at one point, but managed to stay on and bring him to a halt!  Thankfully we made it back safely and our 3 hour ride was over.

We REALLY enjoyed it, and saw parts of the world that not many people have seen.  Also, to travel an old trail that native Indians have travelled for so long was inspiring to say the least.  It was truly magnificent to see that part of God's creation and take it in.  

However, we are all suffering.  Going back to the title of this blog - there are a few areas of my legs which used to have hair but now do not and have been replaced by very red sore areas!  Also, there are leg muscles I never knew existed which have started to announce their existence by SCREAMING IN PAIN!!!!  Also, I did have a nice large blister on my foot from all the walking in New York which had lately healed.  However, since the horse ride I have developed an even larger blister on my hand...

Anyway, it really doesn't matter cause to be honest the ride was more than worth it.  It is the highlight of the holiday so far and I am beginning to feel like a real Indian!!!

Tomorrow we are off to the Grand Canyon, which if it is 'grander' than this canyon we will be in for an amazing time.  

Thanks once again for all your comments and your prayers for our journey, thanks and in the words of my good friend Route66:

STAY CLASSY MUSTANG HORSES!!!!

Action packed Albuquerque!

Well today has been full of action - so much so that it deserves a blog post all to itself.

We arose and got out of the hotel by 10am and then went to Costco for a nice healthy and nutritious breakfast - kosher hotdogs (jonny had a polish hotdog) and we shared an 18 inch pizza which was devoured over the course of the day. Then we went to secure our College Basketball game tickets but we couldn't find the arena at first, so we asked a few students on the University campus and eventually made it there. We got the tickets and head out for the cinema.

We had looked on the map and the cinema's website said that it was straight forward to get to the venue, but after a good 20 minutes trying, we had to stop and ask for directions only to find out the cinema was over a mile away from where the website said it was! We were too late for the film we wanted to see at first, so we went to see a film called Soul Men, which had caught our eye when we were in New York. Suffice to say the plot it and of itself is interesting, but some of the scenes and most of the language were just there for the sake of it, and didn't really add to the film itself.

We quickly stopped off at the hotel again, and then went to a local Shooting Range. None of us had fired a gun before, and if I'm honest I was pretty apprehensive at first, especially with the sound that people were making firing off their own guns in the booth's around us. We hired out 2 guns - a Glock (9mm) and a Magnum Revolver (very loud). I started off on the 9mm and after figuring out how to actually load the magazine into the gun correctly (thanks Jonny!) I started to aim and figure out how to get reliable results. We each had 16 rounds on both guns, trying to hit accurately our targets at different distances - I even managed to get a bullseye too! Then I tried out the revolver, which was much larger and heavier than the Glock was. It was easier to load, but the amount of recoil (the kickback when you fire) wasn't something I was expecting. Also the explosion was much louder when you fired the bullet - so much so I could feel the heal on my face from it!

We video'd each other and had much fun, and then set out for the Basketball game. Parking wasn't as easy as we'd hoped but we managed it eventually, and got into supporting the Lobo's. After the game (which the Lobo's won against the Californian team, the Matadors) we stopped off at a Route 66 cafe for a drink and a light dessert before signing out for the day.

Albuquerque was fun and we managed to pack a lot into it!

Stay classy Albuquerque...

Hello Again!!

Hi to all, it has been a little while since I have contributed to the blog, and so here it is.  Most of what we have been doing has been described to already, but I shall attempt to fill in any gaps that I can think of.

One thing that we did on the way out of Tutencari (please excuse the spelling) was to go off roading, there was a large hill that had dirt paths that went up it and I thought that this would be a good thing to do, it gave our Jeep a chance to stretch its legs and see what it could do.  It dealt with the terrain very well, and I am pleased that we ended up choosing the Mid SUV because without it this would have been impossible.

I would also just like to reiterate P.Jonnys warning about Cheery Pepsi, it is indeed foul stuff, if you see it don't for even the briefest of moments consider that it could taste nice, it does NOT!!!  Avoid as you would the plague, or some other disease that you did not wish to catch.

At this moment in time I cannot think of anything else that I would like to add to the blog at this point, so bye for now!

Adobe and Albuquerque

Well I am back on the blog ready to give you an update. On friday we arrived at Santa Fe and on Saturday morning we said we would do our own thing and then do something together in the afternoon. Jonny and Gary stuck together, while I went on a walk searching for the Santa Fe city area, but instead I just ended up walking through the suburbs for 2/3 hours before going back to the hotel with a few postcards in hand. But at least I got a feel for what seems a quite laid back area although I wouldn't want to live there myself. When I got back to the hotel room I had another small nosebleed, which cleared itself up and then in the afternoon we went to the Downtown area I had originally searched for and toured the Palace of the Governors with a guide, which was very interesting.

We had food and ended up going back to the hotel room for a lazy night. Today we have had breakfast in McDonalds before going to Rodeo Drive Baptist Church, which was a very welcoming and blessed thanksgiving service, where the members of the congregation shared with everyone else what they were thankful for over the last year. Jonny even got up too!

After that we drove through the idyllic countryside to Albuquerque. We checked into the hotel and had a little drive around the town before going to O'Neil's pub, where we found traditional Irish/American live music entertainment which was brilliant and made for a great atmosphere.

Tomorrow we are going to a shooting range, and in the evening we will be going to see a College Basketball game in Albuquerque as long as we can get tickets.

Tuesday we will be driving to Chinle near the Grand Canyon too.

I'd better get some sleep in preparation for tomorrow. Stay classy Santa Fe!

Do you know the way to Santa Fe...

...yes, I know the song is actually San Jose, but it still works!!

Anyway, even if you don't its ok because we are here!!  We arrived yesterday and have had a good full day here before travelling on tomorrow to Alberquerque.  I got to watch Newcastle v Chelsea this morning, and then went and did a bit of shopping. This was followed by a trip to the museum for all of us (inside the Palace of Governors which has stood here since 1600's) it was very good.  Then we had an authentic Mexican meal (I had the most wonderful Fajitas) and have now come back to the hotel.... We have not decided what we are doing this evening, either going out to hear a band play or watching some boxing and a movie here, ah decisions, decisions...

There are 2 quick observations I wish to mention on this blog:

1)  Cherry Pepsi - DO NOT LET THIS FOUL STUFF INTO THE UK - I had a fair amount of this stuff with my KFC last night, and ended up lying in bed most of the evening and night feeling very unwell and with a painful stomach.  It was definitely the Cherry Pepsi that was the problem as we all had the chicken and no one else was unwell.  Also, to be honest it tasted pretty bad.

2) Restrooms - now these sound great, but are actually WC's, Toilets, Loos etc.  In general the cleanliness and facilities in general 'restrooms' are far superior to those in the UK.  There is never graffiti, all the 'places that you rest' (ahem),  are clean and they provide disposable seat covers, the soap dispensers all work as do all the hand drying methods provided.  However a few negatives are that the 'seats of rest' (ahem again) are a lot lower than I am used to and (here's the kicker), the Americans seem to like to be able to watch you....um.....resting (one final ahem here)!!!!  There are extraordinary large gaps at the base and top of 'resting' cubicles, as well as incredibly large gaps along the edge's of the doors into said cubicles.  This means that anyone standing outside can see quite comfortably inside and vice versa!!  So, pros and cons to USA 'Johns'.

Just a couple of observations.  Thanks for keeping track with our adventure, we are having a good time.  (and sorry Rachel if this is too long a blog for you - lol)!!!

Tucumcari - a small big town

Well I thought it was about time I posted again. Today we have just arrived in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Recently we have been through Oklahoma and Texas. Both of which we weren't able to stay in longer than one day, but still long enough to be able to speak to the people living in that area and get a feel for the places.

Today we travelled only just over 100 miles to get from Amarillo Texas to Tucumcari, New Mexico. We took our time to get here and stopped off wherever we found something of interest. We found a lot more of the ghost-towns today along the route 66 road that is famous throughout the history of the route. We made it here to Tucumcari at 3pm and checked into our hotel room, and then proceeded to check out the local dinosaur museum, which was interesting. Then we went and did the washing in the local launderette that should set us up to get back to the UK in clean clothes.

We then went to the local and recommended steak house and thoroughly enjoyed it, before heading back to the hotel after finding out that the local 'saloon' called Pow Wow wanted us to have ID to even stand in the bar area.

So tomorrow we get another late start to Santa Fe, the second oldest european settlement in the US of A. It should also be over 100 miles or so, giving us chance to ride the fabled Route 66 all the way there. Then we stay there for 2 nights, and we should have internet there too so we should be able to keep you up to date there too.

Stay classy Tucumcari!

Is this the way to Amarillo....

Well, since the last blog we have travelled about 600 miles over the last two days.  As the title suggests we have made it to Amarillo, having stayed a night in Oklahoma City on route!  

We've had a great time meeting some of the local residents who all love route 66, promote it vigorously and love it when a traveller stops by.  Gary welcomed us to his restored Gas Station and Mechanics Workshop, told us a lot about the road and even gave us all a free 'sody pop' - Root Beer in Route 66 bottles!  He was a top guy and obviously loved the fact that we, and also a belgium couple driving the mother road, stopped by.

We also saw MATOR from the film Cars - well it was Tator, Mator's cousin who the character in the film was based on.  Then we made it to Oklahoma (where the wind comes sweeping down the plains).  There was a little bit of singing I must admit.

Singing was followed up the next day with a certain Amarillo song as we entered the city, but not before we had 'breakfast' at JR's Family Bar-B-Q!  JR is a legendary wrestling commentator and celebrity.  Its  a long story, but via email he said that he would try to come and meet us when we made it to his restaurant.  Unfortunately he couldn't but he gave us (via the manager) free t-shirts and also free desserts (pumpkin pie cheesecake) as well!  To be honest the food there was fantastic with melt in your mouth ribs the speciality.

we then had a great journey into Texas to Amarillo.  Stopping on route at a great museum and also at the state line.

This evening we went to see a Western (Appaloosa) at the Cinema (Movie Theatre if you are American), which was great as we are in Cowboy country!

Tomorrow we leave Texas and head into New Mexico and more specifically Tucumcari!  We are getting to some of the very interesting parts of old Route 66, with the desert and the rockies ahead of us now.

Thanks for keeping up with us via the blog and thanks for your prayers for us as well.

PLEASE COMMENT ON BOTH THESE BLOG ENTRIES AND PHOTOS - IT IS GREAT TO GET RESPONSES.

God bless all...  now, we've found the way to Amarillo.....does anyone know the way out?

Echoooooo...

Well we have spent the night in Springfield in Missouri, and even done a bit of american bowling too! Gary and Jonny beat me badly at it, after I spent literally half of the first game remembering how to bowl on target - its been a while since I last bowled.

We experimented with getting the internet working and have had to resort to using the hotel lobby, but we did have a great breakfast, making our own waffles. I've just had my haircut, which is a relief, and now we are preparing to move onwards to Oklahoma for the night.

We stopped off at the Merimac caverns where Jesse and Frank James hid out from the law all those hundreds of years ago. The different rock formations and the lighting in those caverns were spectacular. At one point we were nearly 400ft underground!

Well we're about to go on Route 66 now so I'll sign off for now.

Stay classy Springfield...

The Chicago Elbow

Hey all

Thanks for following us as we travel the old mother road.

As others have said we eventually arrived in Chicago and I was very tired after the 36 odd hours travelling from New York with the cancelled flights etc.  We had a brief walk around the city and went to touch Lake Michigan - Gary and Ste went a little further around the city than I did as I returned to the hotel to get some sleep.

However, I know that they returned safely as about 4am I was awakened by the cold.... Stephen (who I was sharing the bed with) had completely stolen the duvet.  I still had a sheet and thought it was not worth trying to get the duvet back, but just then, in that very moment, Stephen swung around and his flailing elbow connected perfectly with my nose.  For a brief moment I was in a bit of pain and a little angry, but it quickly changed into amusement and I couldn't help but laugh at the situation as Ste lay there still fast asleep!  What was even funnier is that an hour later I woke up to find Ste in the bathroom with a nose-bleed!!!!!  He is not sure how it happened, but I promise it was not me...honestly.

We left Chicago in our lovely Jeep and Gary and I (who will be doing all the driving) had a couple of turns each between Chicago and St Louis.  We arrived at St Louis late at night but it is another beautiful city. After Church in the morning (a Southern Baptist Church with a Gospel Choir where we were warmly welcomed and also had a great service) we went into town and found that the local professional hockey team had a game.  We could not resist (not that I wanted to) and I really enjoyed the game, talking to some of the local fans around me to find out the rules and doing all the chants to support the team (LETS GO BLUES)!  It was a great game although we lost.

We then went to the massive ARCH, which is the gateway between Illinois and Missouri before heading back to the hotel.

Today we set off on Route 66 again, looking forward to seeing the Caves that Jesse James and his game used as a hideout and some of the other nostalgic things along the way.  Should be a good day and thanks to you all for keeping up with us and praying for our journey!  God bless!

Hello from St Louis

Hello again, the last few days have been great, it was nice that we got a free upgrade to a mid SUV and that we were able to look through them all and see which one that we wanted.  We choose a Jeep!!  Driving is an interesting experience but one that I am beginning to get used to, they don't have roundabouts for one thing, they have cross roads where everybody can go, it is quite amazing to see that people wait and seem to go in turn.

When we first filled up we were pleased to find that petrol is about 30p a liter and that it only cost £22 to fill the tank, if only this was true for the UK!!

Well bye for now on to Springfield.

Onwards and upwards...

Right well its more or less been 2 days (or at least something like that) since the last update. We checked out of the Hilton Hotel in Chicago, and went to McDonalds for a McGriddle breakfast. Sounded weird to me, but I had the sausage McGriddle and it turned out to be sausage in the middle of 2 small pancakes. Delicious! Then we got the subway all the way across Chicago back to O'Hare airport which took around about an hour. We made it to the car rental place and although it was a surreal place (I'm sure the others will tell you why) we eventually decided on a car (a Jeep that we have yet to christen with a name) to take us along route 66.

Our first order of business was to go to a place just outside of Chicago in Indiana called Gary! (please see pictures) and then we set out down the state of Illinois to St. Louis. It was quite late at night at this point (well we did have to travel 300+ miles to get there) so we couldn't see much, and I was asleep for some of the journey, so either Jonny or Gary will have to fill you in with what was along the first part through Illinois. But what I did see was quite flat ground with views that go on for miles. There are constantly different road signs helping you to find the old Route 66 road, and little rest stops and items of interest along the way.

When we made it to St. Louis and found our Hotel, the Renaissance Hotel, it was quite late at night, and after eating we prepared for the next day.

Today we have been to a local baptist church, called the New Hope Baptist Church. This was a very good experience and everyone there was very welcoming and interested in what we were doing and had to say. We each had to stand up in front of the congregation at the end of the service and tell them a little about why we were visiting and what we were doing (a new experience let me tell you!)

After that we ventured into St. Louis to find out what the city itself was like. So, after eating, we found out that an Ice Hockey game was happening at 5pm in the afternoon. We quickly got tickets and geared up to watching american sports for the next couple of hours. It was definitely a fun experience and the St. Louis Blue Notes I think is Jonny's new Ice Hockey team that he will be following.

Well I don't want to go on too much or in too much detail or no one else will have anything to say, so suffice to say its been busy but an interesting time.

Tomorrow we travel further along Route 66 - stay tuned!

Hello from the Chicago Hilton!!

Hi, this hotel is great, we were upgraded to a room with two bathrooms, which was nice!  today is the day that we get our hire car and the journey along Route 66 begins, I am looking forward to it, and at the very least the transport will be in our hands so there should not be the delays or detours that we experienced on the way here.

Chicago was good, the views out towards the la nice ke are great, and when we had walked in that direction and turned around to come back we could see the Chicago sky line at night, the way in which it was lit up looked v., hopefully some of that was captured on the photos that we took!

Well buy from Chicago for now, hope to check in again soon!

Atlanta and Chicago

Well Jonny has filled you in with what happened to our flights, so we have been all pretty tired today. We landed in Chicago at 11:15am and then after being pleasantly surprised that our baggage arrived with us, we tried to bring the hiring of the car forward a day - but the travel agent and the rental company wasn't having any of that so we took the train from the airport into the middle of Chicago as close to the Hotel as we could get.

Once checked in, we took a brief wander around and ate. Then we had a little walk around Lake Michigan before Jonny went back to the hotel, while Gary and I carried on around the town for a while longer and took a few more pictures of Chicago at night - stunning I'm sure you will agree. Chicago seems to be a lot more relaxed in pace, with friendlier locals willing to speak to you at least.

I hope that now we've gotten past all that trouble with the flights, that we won't encounter any more troubles along our travels. Tomorrow we will pick up our rental car and proceed on to St. Louis for 2 nights. I am not sure where we will have internet access along the way - hopefully for most of it - so we will try to keep you as up to date as possible.

Thinking of the last 24 hours, things can only get better.

Disney Air...oh I mean Delta Air, sorry!

Well, a slight change in mood now….

I am currently sitting here in JFK airport; its 2.26am and we are waiting for a 6am flight to Atlanta, where we will change for Chicago. We SHOULD have been in Chicago last evening, but our flight was delayed, then delayed, then delayed again till eventually, with us all sitting on the plane ready to go, it was cancelled! So, its an overnight stay in the airport.

Gary is asleep in the seat beside me while Stephen has found a ledge up against some stairs across the airport where he is fast asleep. I am on ‘stay awake so we don’t miss our early flight’ duty and am watching a few things on the computer, while conversing with some of the other passengers in the same position.

Earlier on today we had a horse and cart ride in Central Park and then headed to Macy’s (where it is all a little expensive) before getting a ride in a Lincoln Limo to the airport…. And the rest is history!

As I actually do not have any Internet connection here at the airport this will be posted at a later date, but rest assured that I have written this at the time stated!

Well, one of us will endeavour to update you with our situation, although our internet access is not going to be as frequent from here on in as it has been in NYC!

As Stephen says – Stay Classy JFK!


(We are now in Atlanta, and NOT having a good time, our poor excuse for a airline company is called Disney Airline…well actually Delta airline, but it does feel like Goofy is running the whole thing to be honest!!!!) There are so many things I could mention, but I am too tired to keep typing and hopefully the others will mention a few later)!!

Off to Chicago

Right well its me again as the other two seem busy. Today we have the daytime in NYC where we will go to Central Park again, and Macy's and Times Square again. After that we will head to JFK airport and catch our flight to Chicago. It leaves here at 8pm and gets there sometime around 10-10.30pm and then we will have a full day in Chicago.

That's me for now..

Stay Classy New York!

Feet...tiiired...

Well its me again as the other two have fallen asleep. There are quite a few more pictures up of today's exploits now!

We started off by heading a few blocks down to an all you can eat breakfast place. Unfortunately all we could eat is one fairly large breakfast run - we didn't get to do multiple trips. Then we headed off for a subway - only we just kept on incessantly walking on and on 3 miles instead of actually getting a subway to the financial district. So by the time we got to Ground Zero and the Statue of Liberty, I know at least my feet were very tired. And after 3 miles of walking I was also able to go to the toilet!

So we went to the Statue of Liberty, took a few pictures (some of which are destined to never see the light of day!) and after we missed the ferry back, we got a drink at the restaurant and Jonny proceeded to talk to a man named Auguste that told us all about the Statue. Jonny then proceeded to ask if the Statue was a surprise, and whether he made the Eiffel tower aswell. To which the man said "No no you are confusing me with my great friend, Monsieur EIFFEL!" Honestly...

Then after stopping along Wall Street we took a wander around Brooklyn bridge and set off to actually find a subway. Only, we waited 15-20 minutes on the wrong platform before wondering why our 'R' train never came. Then we figured it out and went through to another platform and rode the wrong way down the subway for another good 20 mins before we realised we were going the wrong way. When we finally made it back to the Hotel, we were ready for food, so we went just around the corner to T.G.I Friday's. I had the Flatiron Steak and Mashed Potato and I can honestly say it must have been one of the best steaks I have ever had... ever.

Anyway, its getting late and we have what looks to be a lazy start tomorrow morning, then in the evening we catch our Internal flight to Chicago.

Without further ado, I bid thee farewell!

To Liberty, and beyond!

Well yesterday was a good day. We had breakfast at the Deli Cafe (see pictures) and then traversed Central Park and headed for the Chrysler building (Sat Nav said it was the Empire State Building) then we headed out for the real thing. Eventually we got there and after a genuinely nice walk we listened as our audio guide Tony told us about what we could see.

After that we came back to the Hotel and then set out to find the best cheesecake in NY - we did! Junior's! Then we went to see the Phantom of the Opera, which was fantastic. I found that it was excellently timed and the performances were flawless. The Phantom himself was superb and really sold his character. Unfortunately no photography was allowed so no pictures of that are up.

Today we're going to head out to see the Financial district, Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn bridge, so expect more interesting pictures soon..

Stay classy New York...

Morning Coffee break!!

On the three hour walk to the empire state building we walked through a NYPD police briefing, there were about 85 of them, and as we walked through it was the end of there briefing, and as we walked through the midst of them, thinking that this is the most cops I have ever seen in one place at one time, and probably more than there is in Scotland! 

When we walked through we heard the last part of there briefing and it went along these lines:

The main guy was closing and saying that if they wanted to go and get coffee, then there sergeants could send them off two at a time to go and get coffee, only they were not to all disappear at once. It was quite a surreal thing.

Our Sat Nav (aka Pastor Jonny)  yesterday took us on a lovely walk to the empire state building, so as we head out today in search of the Statue of Liberty, pray that we make it one piece and in good time, as we will be going somewhere near the Bronx, China Town, and Little Italy.

Good bye for now, we head out for breakfast and the unknown!

DAY 2 - Oh, what a day!!!!

Well it all started for me, waking up with two Muessig's looking and laughing at the fact I had been snoring, apparently - both are a little bit 'throwing stones in Glass houses', one being 'chipmunk noise boy' and the other being 'Wild Animal caught in a trap man', during their sleep (I'll let you decide who is who).

Upon fully awakening and getting up we were off to get breakfast.... now I know that this sounds like an easy task, but it did become more like an extended hunting expedition.  I am hoping it is not a sign of things to come, but we could not make a decision between us for at least an hour, walking past a number of delicatessens, cafe's and take outs which were all selling various types of breaky, but not able to actually bring ourselves together to go in!!  Eventually the 'Deli and Cafe' was spotted by Gary and we entered with sheer determination....well, fairly large hunger pangs anway.  When we eventually made it in, we took a number of minutes trying to work out exactly where to order, what to order and who to pay after we did so.  The fact that you ordered food in one area and drinks in another, followed by the fact that you paid at the front of the cafe which looked like a paper shop, was a little bit confusing, but eventually we managed to get it all sorted.  We ate upstairs (Gary and I had pancakes and Ste had something else...egg and sausage I think).

Then we decided to go to the Empire State, but not as it turns out before bumping into Times Square (again), Central Park (which was nice), Trump Towers (no trumping jokes please), Madison Ave (Ste was particularly excited by this), The Chrysler Building (very art-deco) and The Veterans Day Parade (which started at 11am our time was so long I would not be surprised if it is still going now, nearly 12 hours later).

Eventually we made it to the Empire State Building and went to the top!  It is some view from up there and we learnt a lot about the city via the tour and map that we bought to go up there with.  There is a lot more to being up there, but I am sure the others will mention more about it.  One thing of particular note, is that our hotel is only about 1/4 mile straight down 42nd Street from the Empire State, yet it took us over three hours to reach it!!  Never mind, we wanted to walk for three hours straight and soak in the city, honest.

Later on we had our first NY hot dog and first NY Cheesecake (from the NYPD's official best cheesecake store, at least that is what the NYPD Officer told me when I asked him where the best cheesecake was)!

Then we watched 'Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway!  It was a spectacular show, and the guy who played the Phantom was especially terrific.

Now, bed and tomorrow.....who knows.... The Statue of Liberty is the main goal, and Ground Zero also... although we might take a number of weeks to walk there....

The morning after what seems like the day and a half before!

Hello all, this is morning one of our trip in the USA and as I write this blog I am sitting up in bed, on the 29th floor looking out the window at a sunny sky line, and sky scrappers all around.  When you get up close to the window and look down it is quite a surreal feeling.  My body clock is slowly adapting, and although I woke up at 7.30 UK time I was able to go back to sleep.  Digestion does not seem to be affected by changing time zones, and I am feeling very hungry!!!!  Food will definitely have to be on the agenda soon!!

Not sure what we will do to day, at the moment P. Jonny is snoring!!  When he awakes we will brave the world below us, at the moment I shall enjoy watching the people walk around us like ants!!

New York, Stereotypical but fantastic!

From my very early and somewhat limited experience of New York so far.... and that experience is basically a half hour walk from our hotel to Times Square and back.... New York lives up to all that the movies make it out to!

The drivers are crazy, the members of the public more so!  A minute does not go by without the sound of a horn from a near block.  NYPD cars sit on almost every corner, while their normal occupants stand nearby, talking to Joe Public.  The city is lit up by advertisements and announcements, many that span the entire height of Skyscrapers, while other majestic skyscrapers fill the distant sky as well.  Steam literally rises from the drains and you can hear, smell and feel the subway trains through the large vents below you.  Newspapers can be bought on the 'side-walk' either from a booth or from a vending machine, while stacks of black bags are just piled up by the side of the road ready for collection.  Collections were still going on during our walk, which was between 8-9pm, as were deliveries from an enormous amount of DHL and Fedex vehicles.  

It truly is an incredible city, from our bedroom window we can see the Chrysler building all lit up and also the very top of the Empire State Building, as well as Madison Square Garden, which is next door!

To be honest, actually being in New York has not really set in yet and I am not sure what we are going to be up to tomorrow, but I think that it will involve the Statue of Liberty and a trip up to the top of the Empire State at some point now doubt.

After the debacle with the earlier flights the day has ended well, although we are all tired, obviously.  Stay tuned as we begin our trip from New york to chicago and then onward via road to L.A.  It's gonna be..... an experience!

New York New York

Well its 3am UK time and needless to say I am very tired. We had a good but looooong stuffy flight in which I watched the films The Dark Knight and Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Also slept a little.

We got through customs ok, and got a taxi and all of a sudden the tiredness hit me. I have stayed awake til what must be 10pm now, but I hope my body gets used to this quickly! I have also taken some photo's and uploaded them, but for some reason its not showing in the slideshow to the right of this blog. Will fix it when I can.

I had better get some sleep for now.

New York is big and fast-paced and yep, they really do honk their horns that much!

Hello from terminal 5

Hello all the avid readers of this blog, just thought that I would write in to update you all on what has happened in the past 2-3 minutes since my brother enlightened you as to the gravity of our current situation.

Very little!

I logged him out and myself in, discovered that the mac has its keys in different places than those that are more normal, and so have had to become more attached to the delete key than is the norm.

The weather is misty, and we have aprox three hours till we take off again, lets hope that it is in first class!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bye for now

British Airways Rant

Well here we are sitting in the lounge of Heathrow Terminal 5 after a drawn out ordeal of a first flight. The flight got delayed from 7am to 9am, which meant we missed our flight connection to NY. So now we are waiting 2-3 hours to get on the next flight to NY at 13.40. Joy.

And the staff are powerless to give us free upgrades - or so they tell us...

In the mean time I can at least compliment Terminal 5 on its free internet. Well done! Let's hope our luggage makes it straight to NY with us and doesn't have a holiday of its own.

Signing out for now. Look for pictures up soon.

The day before

Just thought that I would my first entry to the blog, here I am sitting in Scotland with less than 24 hours to go, and I have not yet packed, I am about to start writting a list of the things that  I will need to take, I hope that I dont forget anything!!

I'll get my kicks........

.....on Route 66!!!!  

Soon, we will be off to Obamaland, or should be be Barakland?  Time is ticking to lift-off and I am not ready quite yet.  Hopefully will be by the time 4am on Monday morning comes.  

I would like to know exactly who out of the three of us is the good, the bad and the ugly!  I am sure by the time we get back I will have it worked out, although I think I could have a good guess now.

Anyways, it will no doubt be an awesome trip, and I hope we can carry some of you along with us via this blog and give you a taste of the U S of A!  See you on the other side of our garden 'pond'!

The night before the night before...

It's the night before the night before we go to the good ol' USA and I'm about to start packing for it.

I think I can speak for all three of us when I say that none of us can really believe that we're going to be going to America for nearly a month in what is just a number of hours away now. Just over a day.

Signing out for now...